Department of Genetics

Accepted paper for Dr. Julie Secombe

Dr. Julie Secombe, Assistant Professor in the Department of Genetics, has had a paper accepted in PLoS Genetics.

Correct spatial and temporal control of gene expression is essential for development. One of the many ways that gene expression is regulated is by the addition, recognition and removal of methyl groups from the histone proteins around which DNA is wrapped within the nucleus. In our recent paper, we describe a systematic analysis of Little Imaginal Discs (Lid), a protein that regulates transcription via a number of different mechanisms that involve regulated removal and recognition of histone methylation. We show that while Lid’s histone demethylase activity is not essential for development, numerous other conserved domains of this protein are. Furthermore, we find a strong genetic interaction between lid and another histone demethylase, dKDM2, suggesting that this enzyme can compensate for the loss Lid’s enzymatic activity. Our findings have significance for our insight into how gene expression is normally regulated and has implications for our understanding of how this goes awry during disease progression.